October 11th Update!

Posted by Sarah Goodwin on October 11, 2014 at 11:04am

Hey FEST FRIENDS,

18 DAYS AWAY until all you crazies invade Florida and make this year long epic work load worth while!
So, not time to babble…too much work still needs to be done so check out the updates below. GET HYPED! STAY HYPED!!!

MOBILE APPS: THE FUTURE IS MEOW!!!

THE OFFICIAL IPHONE AND ANDROID APPS FOR FEST 13 AND PRE-FEST 2 HAVE ARRIVED!!!

Now you can be even more glued to that electronic life force you hold so dear to your heart! Make your ideal schedule, map out your adventure and explore new bands all in the palm of your hand.

COMPS

We have compiled three kick ass FREE DOWNLOAD FEST 13 COMPS!!! There will be six in total with a bonus comp of comics performing at FEST 13 for help you enjoy your travels to FEST!!!Click here to check them out and download.

ALMOST SOLD OUT

SHIT’S TRUE!!! We are almost sold out for PRE-FEST 2 and FEST 13! I really do not expect passes to be available past this week so get that plastic out and charge up some good times! You can always pay it off next month…or never, and be a real American!

INDIVIDUAL SHOW TICKETS

If you can’t make it for all of the party we are offering pre-sale online for INDIVIDUAL SHOWCASE TICKETS. Head on over to the schedule pages to see the showcases, prices, and links to purchase in advance.

Wanna earn a free pass for FEST 13 and be an active part of the DIY party machine that makes FEST the best each year? Please come out to our FINAL VOLUNTEER INFO/ SIGN UP MEETING!!!

TUESDAY OCT 14th @ 7pm (Holiday Inn Unv. Gainesville, FL)

We have too many empty spots to fill, so if we have a crap turnout Tuesday who knows what we will do or how this thing will actually happen this year! If you are already signed up or live out of town and have volunteered before please check out our Facebook Event Page and help us spread the word. It takes a village to make this monkey dance!

KAIJU BIG BATTEL

Yep, that is about the breakdown. We booked this insanity for PRE-FEST 2 in Ybor and FEST 13 in Gainesville. Even if you don’t give a rats about any of the bands playing this year this spectacle will only be coming around once and is not to be missed.

Check the schedule page for more info and individual show tickets!!!
THURSDAY 10/30 @ The Orpheum (YBOR) as part of PRE-FEST 2
SATURDAY 11/1 @ 8 SECONDS (GNV) as part of FEST 13 * plus a ton of rad bands!

September 5th Update!

Posted by Sarah Goodwin on September 5, 2014 at 12:00pm

Hey Fest Friends,

So, today is the day you have been waiting for. We present you the FEST 13 SCHEDULE!

Now, before you start crying us a twitter river, keep in mind a few things.

365 bands are playing FEST 13 over three days in 12-ish venues!

You have seen this massive list of kick-ass bands we have put together, right? It’s crazy like it is every year, right? Well, unless we made FEST one show a day and a month long you will never be able to see every band playing. Choices will have to be made, and some will be hard depending on what you like. I think I have it the hardest out of everyone because I made this beast. Nevertheless, here is an easy way to see more bands on your list and enjoy more FEST time with friends.

BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR 2!!!

PRE-FEST 2 is a great way to catch many of your favorite bands and cross them off your wish list. You can check out the schedule here, and some of the bands are doing “special” sets!

Everyone tackles the FEST schedule differently. Some of you spend days making the ultimate schedule. Some of you just crack a PBR and see where the day takes you. Both are equally great approaches to this gauntlet of good times, so balance yourself and choose your own adventure while you are here.

WE ADDED MORE BANDS!

Yeah yeah, I know we said we were done but here are some additions that we could not say no to this year.

PASSES ARE ALMOST GONE!

We have 700-ish FEST 13 passes left and 200-ish BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR 2 passes left! Now that the schedule is up these will not last long so grab your passes today before they are all gone!!!

INDIVIDUAL SHOW TICKETS!

You will see in the schedule that some shows have TICKET links. This year, we are selling individual tickets for certain shows in advance. So, if you only want to see a certain band or can only commit to one day this year, here is your chance to grab a ticket to just that show. This is also an option for PRE-FEST 2 down in Ybor as well.

For FEST 13 in Gainesville, we still have extended stay options available (THURSDAY and MONDAY nights) at the Paramount Plaza and Holiday Inn Unv. as well as entire FEST 13 weekend rooms available at the Super 8 we are partnering with. You can check out more info on Gainesville hotels here.

PORCH CHOP FEST EXPRESS!

Need an affordable, fast and fun way to get from PRE-FEST 2 down in YBOR/TAMPA to Gainesville for FEST 13? Need a ride from FEST 13 to the Tampa Airport on Monday with a bunch of other tired bastards? Well, we have you covered with our premium coach charter buses we like to call the PORCH CHOP FEST EXPRESS. We have trips going each way for only
$40 a trip!!! There are only a few seats left so grab yours now. More info can be seen here!

NEW MERCH!

We added some new items to the MERCH section of our site. Remember, you can still order just MERCH now, even though you have already purchased your passes or are playing in a band/ sponsor/ volunteering etc. Grab these kick ass designs now because they will be in limited numbers come FEST 13 weekend!

PRE–BIG PRE–FEST FREE SHOW IN YBOR!

VOLUNTEER FOR FEST 13 and PRE-FEST 2!

We have posted the info about volunteering to earn a free pass to either or both events.

Well folks, that is it for this update. Stay tuned for us to start feeding you the FEST 13 FREE DOWNLOAD COMPS for you to enjoy as well as little updates here and there to the schedule including what we have planned for the official pool parties this year!!!

Posted by Sarah Goodwin on August 15, 2014 at 12:00pm

Hey Fest Friends,

Today, we announce the schedule for BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR 2!!!

Also, we have gotten word back from some of the PRE-FEST bands about what they are doing as far as their SPECIAL SETS for PRE-FEST. We hope to have more commit to this soon but already it is looking really awesome.

SPECIAL BAND SETS FOR PRE-FEST 2
Less Than Jake – Losing Streak in it’s entirety (along with some other gems)
A Wilhelm Scream – all twitter request set
Broadway Calls – first record (or at least most of it)
Save Ends – 2012 EP Strength Vs. Will in entirety (+others)
Astpai – new record Burden Calls from front to back<
Banquets – first full-length, Top Button, Bottom Shelf
Matt Woods – all-request set

INDIVIDUAL SHOW TICKETS FOR PRE-FEST 2

You will also notice in the schedule and on the tickets page that we will be selling individual show tickets in advance this year for the showcases at PRE-FEST 2. So, if you or you know a friend who can’t quite make it out for the entire 2 days of PRE-FEST then snag a ticket to just one of the shows and still enjoy the party. Keep in mind that these tickets are very limited in quantity so grab them ASAP before they are all gone!

Speaking of all gone, we have less than 300 BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR 2 PASSES LEFT FOR SALE! (link to tickets page).

These passes grant you access to all the official showcases involved with PRE-FEST in YBOR on OCT 29th and 30th! This includes the 20-year anv. show of KAIJU BIG BATTLE! DON’T WAIT ON THIS!!!! These will sell out soon.

We have put the dates up for volunteer sign up meetings finally for PRE-FEST. They will be Oct 6th & 7th @ 7pm at the ORPHEUM in Ybor. You can check out the volunteers page for more info. We will have less volunteer spots than last year at PRE-FEST so come early to sign up and be a part of the team!!!

NEW MERCH

Check out some of the new merch designs we added to our merch store!!!!

FEST 13 ART SHOW IN GAINESVILLE

We once again will be having the FEST ART SHOW. If you are an artist or photographer who is in a FEST band or has done work for bands who play/have played FEST, then check out the ART SHOW page of the site and see how you can submit. Deadline is August 31st!!!

FEST PRESENTS FREE SHOW!!!

We like to help out friends, and what better way then to pay them off so we can make a FREE SHOW once in a while for all of you. Please come out early! This will be the blow out of the summer!!!

Well, that is it for today. More to come soon. Hopefully the FEST 13 schedule will be tightened up and available for your viewing pleasure in the weeks to come. For now, get stoked on BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR 2, spread the word, and hopefully we will see many of you soon at LOOSEY’S next weekend

July 25th Update!

Posted by Sarah Goodwin on July 25, 2014 at 12:00pm

Happy Friday Fest Friends,

With FEST 13 being just shy of 100 days away we thought it would be a good time to announce the FEST COMEDY SHOWCASE lineup for this year. This will be our fourth freakin’ year doing Comedy at FEST and I think each year the lineup gets better and better.

We are super stoked to finally get Chris Gethard to come to FEST. Many of you might know him from Comedy Central’s best new show, BROAD CITY, or maybe you caught his recent half hour special on Comedy Central? Nonetheless, the majority of FEST folks will know him from his very very popular independent talk show, The Chris Gethard Show.

Chris also released a comedy album entitled My Comedy Album, back in April on Don Giovanni Records. He has also had some Hollywood time in films such as The Other Guys, The Dictator, and The Heat.

Now he is coming to Gainesville for FEST 13 to headline a stacked full showcase featuring….

So, check out their profile pages on the FEST 13 site and waste away a few hours at work today on some youtube clips.

That is all for this Friday. In case you missed it we did a massive update and added some new bands last week. So, keep reading to catch up or follow us on FEST social media so we can let you know when we have something else awesome to announce.

Mid-Summer Update!

Posted by Sarah Goodwin on July 18, 2014 at 12:00pm

Hey Fest Friends!

It’s been a little while since we did a big update so I figured we should do a little re-cap of what has gone down while you were busy eating hot dogs and sticking fireworks in all the wrong places.

MORE BANDS ADDED TO FEST 13

We are nearing the very end of the lineup but made some wiggle rooms to get these fine folks added to the party!

A Wilhelm Scream were actually one of the first bands to confirm up for FEST 13. No surprise there, however we waited to announce them so it would not affect their headlining tour that just rampaged through Florida. We got some good hangs for two nights, and I think I am still feeling a little light headed from it all.

Also, in addition, we are extremely honored to have The Paul Collins Beat performing. For those of you unfamiliar, Paul Collins was in The Nerves who originally did “Hanging on a Telephone” that was brought back by Blondie. After the Nerves broke up, he formed THE BEAT. Now he rocks the best of both plus a bunch of new rockin’ classics. Check out our featured video for just a taste of what is to come from THE PAUL COLLINS BEAT!!! You can also hit up his website for tons of info and free live downloads.

Remember, these bands all claim that they will be doing “special” sets at PRE-FEST. Hopefully they will let us all know soon what they have in store for us all. *cough cough, tell Sarah*

FEST 12 HIGHLIGHT REEL/ VIDEO ARCHIVE

If you have not had a chance to check out the latest highlight video from FEST 12 and BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR from last year, wander over to the VIDEO ARCHIVE of the site. You can find that as well as a ton of videos from FEST past. Even footage of Against Me! from FEST #1 back in 2002!!!

FEST 13 and BIG PRE-FEST 2 PASSES STILL AVAILABLE

Passes are still available but are quickly running out. We have about 1,000 passes left for FEST 13 and only about 400 left for BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR!!! Being that we are still over three months away, I see both selling out before the summer is over. Don’t wait around and snag a pass today!!! That’s why god created credit cards right?

HOTEL ROOMS STILL AVAILABLE

The Paramount Plaza and Holiday Inn are still sold out for Gainesville, but we have just partnered with SUPER 8 in Gainesville to offer a discounted rate for FEST attendees. Check out the HOTELS PAGE for more info/ rate/ and number to call!!!

Ybor/Tampa HOTELS are still available for BIG PRE-FEST 2 but going super fast!!! Grab one now before they are gone on the PRE-FEST HOTELS PAGE.

PORK CHOP FEST EXPRESS

For those of you going to PRE-FEST 2 in Ybor/ Tampa or if you live in that area and are looking for a cheap, safe, clean, and awesome way to get to and from Gainesville, check out the fleet of charter buses we have scored again this year we have called THE PORK CHOP FEST EXPRESS.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD

Also, we should be getting our FEST 13 and PRE-FEST 2 promotional posters and postcards in soon. If you want to help us spread the word in your town email streetteam@thefestfl.com and we will hook you up! Send us photos of a rad place you placed them and we will share with Facebook and Instagram.

FEST RADIO PLAYER

Wanna check out new bands playing FEST 13? Check out this monster FEST RADIO PLAYER. I listen to it while working every day and have found some amazing new gems

FEST ART SHOW IS BACK

We are very happy to find a home again for the FEST 13 ART SHOW. This year good friends and family will host it over at Anthem Tattoo who have recently moved their HQ into a beautiful historic house in downtown Gainesville. Check out the ART SHOW page for more info and how to submit your artwork/ photography to possibly show this year.

COMING SOON BEFORE SUMMER’S OVER

Well folks,I think that is about it for our mid summer update. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for faster updates and good times. Now time to tighten up the schedule and loosen up the brews to get ready for another crazy year of FEST! Enjoy the rest of July and try not to get crazy from the heat!

May 14th Update!

Posted by Sarah Goodwin on May 14, 2014 at 12:00pm

Hey FEST FRIENDS,

It is hard to believe that it has been about a month and a half since we first launched THE FEST 13/ BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR 2 SITE… In that time we have been able to announce over 250+ bands so far including DESCENDENTS, a reunion from MINERAL, a 20 year special anniversary show from HOT WATER MUSIC, LIFETIME, MARKED MEN, LESS THAN JAKE, STRIKE ANYWHERE and so many more great FEST alumni and new blood.

Now we are reaching near the end of our booking and are extremely excited to announce that (the) MELVINS will finally be added to the party!!!

We are also announcing the following bands will also be playing FEST 13 and some signing on for BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR 2.

Like I mentioned before, we are nearing the end of our booking already. I am sure we will have a few more surprises in store for you over the summer but for now we are working hard on getting the schedule finished so we can hopefully get it finalized and announced in record time this year.

FEST 13 & BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR WILL SELL OUT THIS YEAR!!!

It has not even been a full month of sales, and we are well over the half way point for the amount of passes we have left to sell to each event. Please get your passes early so you are not missing out on what is shaping up to be one fucking epic year for FEST!!!

Remember – early bird pricing ends on June 30th!

Make sure to follow us on our social media accounts for updates, announcements and other fun stuff.

Hopefully next week we will be able to bring you two new fun features to the site. Stay tuned, you will be stoked we promise!

April 24th Update!

Posted by Sarah Goodwin on April 24, 2014 at 11:58am

Hey FEST Friends,

As promised, here’s the next batch of confirmed bands! By my counts, that makes the total confirmed 250+. Crazy – considering this time last year the site had just launched! See the list below for you to geek out!

BANDS ON BANDS ON BANDS

We are more than happy to announce that Mineral is coming to Fest to celebrate their 20th Anniversary! Get stoked.

April 20th Update!

Posted by Sarah Goodwin on April 20, 2014 at 4:20pm

April 19th Update!

Posted by Sarah Goodwin on April 19, 2014 at 10:45am

Hey FEST Friends,

Tomorrow, we will celebrate my new favorite Holiday 4:20 EASTER!! I can’t think of a better merger of special times — so we decided to toss into the mix the first day of selling PASSES/ HOTELS/ MERCH and seats on the PORK CHOP FEST EXPRESS. This is always a pretty crazy day so here are a few things to keep in mind when ordering.

SALES START AT 4:20PM Eastern Standard Time in the U.S.A. So set your clocks and be ready to snag your shit!

THE HOLIDAY INN (GAINESVILLE) rooms go super fast! This is the main thing that people grab first and the first thing to sell out. Last year the entire hotel sold out in 45 minutes through our site. DO NOT CALL THE HOLIDAY INN TO BOOK A ROOM OR WITH QUESTIONS. They will not be able to help you. We also suspect that the HILTON GARDEN INN (YBOR) will go quickly too, since we only have a small rooming block there.

If you are NOT ordering a hotel right now, please wait an hour or so before buying your PASSES and other stuff. This will help keep the site from getting bogged down and help the folks, especially traveling from far far away to be able to access the site to process their hotel orders.

REMEMBER: What ever you purchase will be charged to your card at that time!!!

In the beginning of the sale, expect the site to load SLOW!!! We have upgraded our server to the max allowed for this day, but keep in mind we are not a fucking major corporate monster so shit will run slow. Best is to go to the site now and figure out exactly what you want to purchase so you can get in and out with the quickness.

DO NOT FREAK OUT when your confirmation email receipt does not pop up in your in box within seconds. Due to the amount of orders, it may take some time for that email to get to you. If you still have not received your email confirmation within 24 hours check your spam folderfirst, then contact us.

I think that is about it for now. I hope everyone has a smooth and happy transaction, and we are extremely excited to see where you all are coming from! I am sure we will share some of these stats with you on Thursday 4/24 when we announce the next round of confirmed bands.

Thanks again for making each and every year of FEST a special one. Enjoy 4:20 Easter! Don’t get too enlightened and try to eat the entire bunny!

Cheers and thanks,

Tony and the FEST crew

MORE BANDS TO ANNOUNCE FOR FEST 13

Thursday 4/24 you can come back to the site to see a new batch of bands confirmed for FEST 13! We pushed the announcement back a few days in hopes to get the final word from some folks who were still figuring out their plans. Come back then and see who will be returning and who we are bringing back from their slumber.

April 15th Update!

Posted by Sarah Goodwin on April 15, 2014 at 12:00pm

FEST FRIENDS,

Heads up! We added more bands to FEST 13 now making it 200 confirmed bands. We still have some big hopefuls we are still waiting on & an inbox that is overflowing with requests to play (despite us asking not to email us). So, with over 6 months away from FEST 13, I think we are off to an amazing start!

Before you get all caught up in who has been added we have an important reminder for you all.

April First Update!

Posted by Sarah Goodwin on April 1, 2014 at 2:58am

Welcome FEST friends to another exciting year of FEST!

We have lots to cover in this first announcement, so take some time to go through our new site and make sure to explore the band pages to check out all the new bands we are bringing down to the party this year. We will be announcing even more in the coming weeks, so please stay tuned and follow us on all our social media outlets for updates.

Be sure to check for the “FLORIDA EXCLUSIVE” ribbon for all of our amigos making Fest their only Sunshine State experience!

NEW VENUE FOR FEST 13

This year we have a slight change in venues for FEST 13. The Florida Theater closed down. We hope someone awesome takes it over, but we just can’t wait around to see if that can happen. As many of you heard we have been working very closely with the city of Gainesville to be able to expand FEST and use city property. They have granted our wishes, and we will be moving forward with plans to utilize the BO DIDDLEY PLAZA for FEST 13. We will be fencing off the area, bringing in killer sound and lights and pretty much making it a kick ass FEST world for all of you. We still have not gotten a final verdict on what the capacity will be, but we all are hoping it will be a much larger space so you all will have a chance to catch all the headliners this year. Stay tuned for more info as we work more with the city on making this the best FEST yet!

BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR 2

We are once again going to expand the good times down to YBOR/TAMPA area for BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR 2. Last year was a huge success and we only got amazing feedback from attendees, bands, and the venues down there so why not do it again. We will be doing it for two days again at four venues in the heart of Historic Ybor City. Looks like we will be able to host about 60+ bands and we are encouraging them to do some special sets while down there. For more info check out the PRE-FEST 2 page of the site.

That’s right. Easter Sunday Funday!!! Grab your passes, merch, and hotel rooms that day and get a cheaper price on passes for ordering early! WE WILL ONLY BE SELLING 3,750 PASSES FOR FEST 13 (GAINESVILLE) WE WILL ONLY BE SELLING 1,200 PASSES FOR BIG PRE-FEST IN LITTLE YBOR 2 (YBOR/TAMPA) So, don’t wait on this and be left out when the party sells out!!!

FOLLOW US ON FEST SOCIAL MEDIA

Want to stay on top of band announcements, exciting new developments or just be apart of the conversations about this exciting FEST 13 year? Then follow us and help us spread the word. Check out our Facebook, Twitter & Instagram feeds. Well folks, that is about it for this crazy first big FEST announcement. Enjoy the new site and be sure check out all the bands playing so far this year. We hope you all are as excited as we are so far. Hopefully all our wish list will come true and we will be able to bring you the biggest and best FEST yet! Cheers and thank you all for being part of our wonderful FEST family!